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Club World Cup

Al Ahly vs Al Duhail marks 7th all-Arab Club World Cup clash

The African champions and the host country representative are facing off in the quarter-final of the Club World Cup in Qatar.

Update:
Soccer Football - Egyptian Premier League - Pyramids FC v Al Ahly - 30 June Stadium, Cairo, Egypt - January 26, 2021 Al Ahly's Mohamed Magdy in action REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
AMR ABDALLAH DALSHREUTERS

An all-Arab encounter is set to take place in the opening game of the FIFA Club World Cup in Qatar on 4 February as African champions Al-Ahly of Egypt take on Qatari side Al Duhail. it's the seventh time in the tournament's history that two Arab teams will have met.

The tournament's draw was staged a few days ago to set up the Egyptian-Qatari encounter with the winner clashing with UEFA champions league winners Bayern Munich in the semi-final.

The history of Arab encounters in the competition

The first time two Arab teams met in the Club World Cup dates back to 2000 in Brazil when Saudi Al Nassr managed to beat Moroccan Wydad Casablanca 4-3.

The 2005 competition in Japan saw another all-Arab game when Saudi Al Ittihad snatched a 1-0 victory from Al-Ahly of Egypt, while Qatari Al Sadd claimed a 2-0 victory over Espérance Sportive de Tunis in 2011 edition in Japan as well to secure their semi-final spot.

Espérance Sportive de Tunis conceded another defeat to Al Ain of UAE in the quarter-final of the 2018 tournament.

The last edition of the tournament saw two Arabs encounters as Al Hilal secured a spot in the semi-final through a victory over Espérance Sportive de Tunis before the Tunisian side achieved a thrashing 6-2 victory over Qatari Al Sadd in the 5th and 6th places game.